Dhamma Archive

This archive of extracts from the Dhammapada will be updated periodically, mainly from the sidebar Thus Have I Heard.

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

All wrongdoing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrongdoing remain?

You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger.

It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.

Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.

A man is not a great man because he is a warrior, kills other men; but the man who hurts not any living being, he in truth is called a great man.

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Likewise, happiness never decreases by being shared.

He who experiences the unity of life sees his own self in all beings, all beings in his own self and looks on everything with an impartial eye.

Look not to the faults of others, nor their omissions and commissions. But rather look to your own acts, to what you have done and left undone.

An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.

By doing evil, one defiles oneself; by avoiding evil, one purifies oneself. Purity and impurity depend upon oneself: none can purify another.

Make an island of yourself, make yourself your refuge; there’s no other refuge.

Make truth your island, make it your refuge; there’s no other refuge.

If you cannot master yourself, the harm you do turns against you.

Understand that the body is merely the foam of a wave, the shadow of a shadow.

He who for the sake of happiness hurts another who also wants happiness, shall not hereafter find happiness.

One should do what one teaches others; if one would train others, one should be well controlled oneself. Difficult, indeed, is self-control.

Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care, for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.

It is better to do nothing than to do what is wrong. For whatever you do, you do to yourself.

A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. Likewise, a man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.

Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine.

You are a seeker. Delight in the mastery of your hands and your feet, of your words and your thoughts. Delight in meditation and in solitude.

Knowing that the other person is angry, the one who remains mindful and calm acts for his own best interest and for the others’ interest, too.

Better it is to live one day seeing the rise and fall of things than to live a hundred years without ever seeing the rise and fall of things.

Master your senses, what you taste and smell, what you see, what you hear. In all things be a master of what you do and say and think. Be free.

There’s no fire like passion, no crime like hatred, no sorrow like separation, no sickness like hunger, and no joy like the joy of freedom.

I have love for the footless, for the bipeds too I have love; I have love for those with four feet, for the many-footed I have love.

Fresh milk takes time to sour. So a fool’s mischief takes time to catch up with him. Like the embers of a fire it smoulders within him.

Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace. Better than a thousand hollow verses is one verse that brings peace.

Whatever is felt is within suffering.

“Do what you have to do, resolutely, with all your heart.

The traveller who hesitates, only raises dust on the road”, he says.

“There’s pleasure and there’s bliss.

Forego the first, to possess the second.”

“How easily the wind overturns a frail tree.

Seek happiness in the senses, indulge in food and sleep, and you too, will be uprooted.”

“Thirty-six streams are rushing toward you!

Desire, and pleasure, and lust …

Play in your imagination with them, and they will sweep you away.”

“There are those who do not realise that one day we all must die.

But those who do realise this, settle their quarrels.”

“Though one may conquer a thousand times a thousand men in battle, yet he indeed is the noblest victor who conquers himself.”

“However many holy words you read. However many you speak. What good will they do you if you do not act upon them?”

“Just as solid rock s not shaken by the storm, the wise are not affected by praise or blame.”

“All beings fear death. Life is dear to all. When a person considers this he doesn’t kill, or cause to kill.”

“If he makes himself as good as he tells others to be, then he in truth can help others.

Difficult indeed is self-control.”

“There is no fire like passion,

There is no shark like hatred,

There is no snare like folly,

There is no torrent like greed.”

“One is not low because of birth, nor does birth make one holy. Deeds alone make one low, deeds alone make one holy.”

“How easy it is to see your brother’s faults. How hard it is to face your own.”

“Do not what is evil. Do what is good. Keep your mind pure. This is the teaching of the Buddha.”

“Does the spoon taste the soup? A fool may live all his life in the company of a master and still miss the way.”

“Look not for recognition, but follow the awakened and set yourself free.:

“Let go of anger, let go of pride. When you are bound by nothing, you go beyond sorrow.””Overcome the angry with non-anger, overcome the wicked by goodness, overcome the miser by generosity, overcome the liar by truth.”

“Beware of at the anger of the mind. Master your thoughts. Let them serve truth.”

“Never speak harsh words, for they will rebound upon you. Angry words hurt and the hurt rebounds.”

“To cease from evil, to do good and to purify the mind, yourself: this is the teaching of all the Buddhas.”

“The greatest impurity is ignorance. Free yourself from it. Be free.

“Awake. Be the witness of your thoughts.”

“If desire is not uprooted, sorrows grow again in you.”

“The conquest of oneself, is better than the conquest of all others.”

“Desire never crosses the path of virtuous and mindful persons.”

“It is you who must make all the effort. Masters only point the way.

“The rain could turn to gold, and still your thirst could not be slaked. Desire is unquenchable. Or it ends in tears, even in Heaven.”

“Can you hide from your own mischief? Not in the sky. Not in the midst of the ocean. Nor deep in the mountains. Nowhere.

“Can there be joy and laughter when always the world is ablaze? Enshrouded in darkness? Should you not seek the light?”

“All states have mind as their forerunner, mind is their chief, and they are mind-made. If one speaks or acts, with a defiled mind, then suffering follows one even as the wheel follows the hoof of the draught-ox.”

Ah, now I’ve found where you were writing from! I almost lost you – the WP computer had tossed all your lovely comments into my spam bin. Thank you so much for coming over to have a chat, and I’m glad you like my Dhammapada entries. I find them refreshing – sometimes even a swift kick up the …. :) See you again soon.

Very nice! Although I am not a Buddhist, I like his teaching and I respect Buddhist art particularly. I love the Buddha image and the lotus image on this post.
Congrats on your freshly pressed post. The silhouette photos are indeed very beautiful!

Indeed, Buddhism is a philosophy. There are some meaningful Buddhist preachings that we all should follow, weather we are Buddhist or not. I have another blog called ” healthy and happy”, which I started not long ago. In the first post I used the lotus to lead my discussion. This is very elementary comparing to yours. Please excuse me if you find it not too interesting.

You’ve made me feel guilty I haven’t updated it lately – but I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed reading some of my favourite extracts from the Dhamma. There are quite a lot of Buddhist sites on WP, Cornelia, if you’re interested in searching them out.